Explaining who a believer is in the sight of Allah
What is meant by Ūṣūl ad-Dīn and what is
the meaning of al-Īmān ash-Sharʿī al-Manhajī according
to Allah the Exalted?
Answer (Imam Wahbah az-Zuḥaylī):
Al-Īmān ash-Sharʿī[1] is nothing but affirmation in the heart (i.e.
accepting it and submitting to it) of everything that is known by necessity
(without evidence or proof) of the religion of Muḥammad, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace, such that the masses learn it without examination[2]
or deduction,[3]
such as Allah’s Oneness, Prophecy, the Resurrection, reward and punishment, the
obligation to pray, give zakāh, perform the Ḥajj, and the unlawfulness of wine
and so forth.
Generality suffices for that in
which generality is accepted, such as faith in the angels, the Books and the
Messengers, and detail is stipulated in that which requires detail, such as
faith in Jibrīl, Mīkāʾil, Mūsā, the Torah, the Injīl and the Qurʾān, such that
if someone does not affirm any one of the aforementioned matters, one has
disbelieved.[4]
In other words, one must know
the five pillars of Islam: the testimony that there is no god but Allah and
that Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah, the establishment of the prayer, the
giving of the zakāh, the fasting of Ramaḍān and the Ḥajj to the House for whoever
is able to.
And one must know the pillars
of faith: faith in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Last Day
and in the Decree and Predestination, the good of it and the bad of it.
The majority of the Shāfiʿīs
have stipulated that whoever believes that the Message of Muḥammad, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, is exclusive for the Arabs must openly disavow
every religion that contradicts the religion of Islam, and this is so that the
rulings of Islam can be applied to him, not to establish his faith and so that
he can be described as a believer in Allah the Exalted.[5]
Thus, if a person only declares the two testimonies of faith and has firm
conviction in the generality of the Islamic Message, he is a believer according
to Allah.
[Translated from Fatāwā Muʿāṣirah (Damascus: Dār al-Fikr, 1427/2006),
p.263-264]
[1] (tn): i.e. faith
according to the Revealed Law
[2] Ar. naẓr
[3] Ar. istidlāl
[4] (tn): i.e. a person is
not a believer if they affirm the angels but denies the Jibrīl, peace be upon him is an angel, or affirms
the Messengers but deny that Mūsā, peace be upon him is a Messenger, or they
affirm the Book but deny that the Torah is one of the Books
[5] For further details on
this point, please see notes 31 and 21 of this
article.
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